AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal submitted his response to the Election Commission (EC) on Friday regarding his controversial statement about the Yamuna water being “poisoned.” The EC had earlier issued a notice, asking Kejriwal to clarify his remarks by 11 am on Friday.
Accompanied by Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Kejriwal clarified that his statement was related to the high levels of ammonia contamination in the Yamuna water supplied to Delhi from Haryana. He emphasized that his comments were not intended to suggest any malice, but rather to address the environmental crisis of ammonia levels peaking at 7 parts per million (ppm) in January, which posed a significant public health risk.
Kejriwal explained that despite multiple attempts to engage with Haryana’s Chief Minister to resolve the issue, no action had been taken to address the contamination. He alleged that the Haryana government’s inaction was part of a political strategy to create a manufactured water crisis, tarnishing the AAP government’s image ahead of the elections.
Before submitting his reply to the EC, Kejriwal accused the poll body of targeting the AAP for simply raising concerns about the water crisis. He claimed that the language of the EC’s notice suggested that a decision had already been made against him, accusing them of “shooting the messenger.”
Kejriwal also claimed that the contamination of the water with ammonia was part of a conspiracy to disrupt the elections and force half of Delhi to face a water crisis. He further claimed that the ammonia levels had since dropped from 7 ppm to 2.1 ppm, signaling a reduction in the crisis.
In his response to the EC, Kejriwal defended his actions, stating that he had averted an engineered water crisis that was designed to influence the elections. He also reiterated his call for a criminal investigation into Haryana’s Chief Minister, accusing him of exacerbating the situation for political gain.
The EC had issued two notices, seeking details from Kejriwal about the engineers, locations, and methods used by the Delhi Jal Board to identify the contamination. Failure to provide the required information could result in further action from the poll body.
